This is an American White Oak-aged version of Jai Alai India Pale Ale. The white oak adds smoothing notes of vanilla and slight hints of dill to the aroma and flavor profile. The finish is elegantly dry due to the light tannin notes from oak aging and though still loaded with hop flavor, hop bitterness is more restrained.

A-hazy orange with white head that sticks around for awhile. S-almost smells like white cheddar cheese its. Must be the white oakT-get a lot of the wood compared to the hops. Wood really over powers it. M-medium body and very dryO-OK at best. Oo much wood (259 characters)

Poured from a 12oz bottle into my Cigar City pint glass. It poured a murky, orange/amber color with a dense and rocky head overflowing from the glass. Fantastic head retention to it, as a thick foam was there throughout drinking it. Very nice lacing as well. Pretty much a perfect looking beer of the style for me.

The aroma has a very nice and juicy hoppiness to it. I get a lot of grapefruit flavor out of it, wit ha little mango and peach as well. The oak is also there and adds some vanilla and moderate woody flavors. The oak is very well done and enhances the flavors instead of overpowering them.

The taste shows more of the oak than the nose did. I get a little vanilla mixed wit ha pretty big earthy, woody flavor. The juicy, grapefruit like hop flavors are also there. The finish mixes some moderate bitterness with some of the sweeter, juicy, and woody flavors. Very nice hoppiness to it and the wood flavors really enhanced the flavors for me without being too overbearing.

The mouthfeel is a bit heavy for an IPA, with carbonation being moderate. The heavy mouthfeel makes it seem even juicier and almost pulpy. It actually fit the beer pretty nicely. Overall, I really liked this beer. I liked it a lot better then the cedar one as well. The oak was very nice in it, but still allowed the hops to shine. I'm not usually one for wood treatments to IPA's so this one surprised me a bit. Very solid beer overall. (1,428 characters)

Pours a nice crisp amber orange with a bit of nice white head. Smells very hoppy and oaky. A hint of vanilla on the nose as well. Tastes fairly sweet and hoppy. Lots of piney flavours on the tongue and a solid malt backbone. Thick and syrupy with a solid mouthfeel. Overall, just a touch nicer than regular jai alai as the oak adds some interesting complexity.

Appearance: Cloudy orange in color with a fluffy, three finger white head and good retention. Definitely a lively pour.

Aroma: Orange zest, citrus, tropical fruit, and mango notes are all in there. A nice rounded backing of caramel and more than a little toasted oak.

Taste: Bitter pine notes are dominant upfront. Oak and herbal notes round out the hop flavors in front. The tropical fruit and mango notes are far less noticable here. A slightly bitter finish.

Mouthfeel: Medium bodied and crisp. Ample carbonation keeps the feel light and a little dryness sets in on the finish.

Overall, a welcome twist on Jai Alai. I enjoyed this variation but I almost feel there was not enough to distinguish it from the original. The most noticable improvement (from what I remember) was in the balanced and complex hop aroma. (962 characters)

This brew pours with a puny one-finger of head (especially compared to the head explosion of the base Jai Alai), and it's more hazy and slightly lighter in color than the base Jai Alai. Lacing is still exceptional. The smell is very nice, sharp oakiness and a touch of vanilla is over the great tropical fruit and hop base of Jai Alai. The oakiness is much stronger on the taste, which is both a good thing and a bad thing. It's good because the oak tastes great. But it's bad because it mutes some of the better parts of the base Jai Alai - the citrus and hops in particular. I wouldn't mind the oak to be a bit more subtle. Otherwise, it's pretty good, just unbalanced.

The mouthfeel is good, it's slightly more substantial and less carbonated than the normal Jai Alai. Drinkability suffers just a bit with the oak treatment. Overall, it's a solid spin on the original, but it's not quite an improvement. Worth trying, but not a necessity. (1,005 characters)

Oak pervades the nose - coconut and vanilla overwhelm the caramel malt and citrus of the base beer. Lightly spicy perhaps as well.

Toasted coconut, grapefruit rind, and a touch of apricot and earth from hops on the palate. Palm sugar notes offset the moderate bitterness - citrus is strong but comes across as muted compared to the regular Jai Alai - leading into the finish which has a distinctive coconut/vanilla/very-lightly-tannic white oak flavor (which I only recall being this forward in White Oak from The Bruery).

Creamy, medium-light bodied, well carbonated, and faintly slick.

While this is an interesting idea, the execution leaves me missing the potent citrus and gentle balance of the base beer; particularly in terms of drinkability. (980 characters)

A: peach fuzz/ amber orange, two finger off white head in perfect pint. cloudy to a point, clears up a little over time.S: strangely enough, im reminded of the shorts anniversary i had a few nights ago, mainly because i feel like i get some kind of pepper, or peppercorn fairly up front. honeybell oranges and strong, dense citrus dominate, this is a whole different animal. T: again i feel like i get some kind of peppercorn aspects in the flavor, maybe its the oak. theres grapefruit, blood orange, orange zest, heat, oak... a little bit of everything, except the kitchen sink. damn this thing is intense.M: an initial moderate carbonation level tapers off to yield a creamy and smooth finish. mild bitterness all the way through, but more just open playing field for intense and solid flavor profile. D: im finally reviewing this after having a few bottles over a months time, and id drink it again, and again.. and again. really glad i got to experience it, and hopefully theyll do it again. absolutely delicious. (1,021 characters)

Many thanks to BPreston for the chance to try this one. CCB doesn't dissapoint here- another solid gold beer.

Poured into my Dfh snifter- nearly opaque dark orange color with crazy head that fills to the top of the glass, and stays around forever. Crazy great retention. 2 feet away I can smell the coconut grapefruit scent coming off this bottle- major tropic fruit scents. Taste- blood orange fruit, coconut, lemon citrus, breads malt flavor. Wow! The tropical sour flavors hit the back of the palate last, minutes after the taste. I can still smell the coconut scent.

Mouthfeel- creamy smooth mouthfeel, this gets better and better.

Drinkability- only issue here is to keep myself from drinking this all day every day.

A pasty white fluffy head of 1 finger, fades slowly iwith a bit of lacing, over orangeish golden color with a bit of haze.

Nose has lots of oak, a fresh white oak like aroma, the oak brings some vanilla as well, some earthy hops, light pine and citrus, has a bit of a gumball aroma, tangerine and peach as well.

Taste brings citrus hops, light pine and grapefruit, plenty of oak again with the white fresh oak and light vanilla, some bitterness, spicy earthy hops start to dominate as it goes, light fruits again with tangerine and peach, long bitter citrus hop finish, light spice and oak, also a very light buttery oak, and light astringency.

Mouth is medium bodied with lots of carbonation.

Drink is good, the oak smooths out the astringency and heavy bitterness, but it still gets fairly bitter, nice balance. (868 characters)

Thanks GEOGRANDE. Spicey IPA. Medium golden coloured body with enormous head that leaves a half inch of white head. The aroma is unuual as it has the cooked oak, interesting. Medium plus mouthfeel. Decent drinkability, but I could not drink a second bottle of this too soon. (274 characters)

Pours out slightly cloudy with two fingers of white foamy suds.Smell is very citrusy with mango and grapefruit at the front. Sugar and malt/yeast are in the back.Taste is a watery mix of bitterness and barely sweet caramel. The grapefruit rind is here then you get a slight fruityness. The white oak must be the bitterness at the end because it makes the mouth really dry.Mouthfeel is clean for the most part. Somewhat sticky at first but the bitterness takes all that away.I could see sessioning this beer if I live in TAMPA.Thanks Haver, you are a gem! (559 characters)

S: Lots of oak. In fact, it's hard for me to pick out any hop aroma at all. If I almost get my nose wet, I can begin to pick out some tropical, citrus notes. Nice nose...has a bite to it. Can certainly tell this has been aged on oak. Harkens back to my grandparent's wood burning stove during the wicked Florida winters...50 degrees? Better bundle up.

T: Hops make themselves known and blend in well with the oak flavors. Bitter and spicy. More tropical than citrus in the taste. I like it...different for sure.

M: Medium with good carbonation. Nothing too special.

D: Good, but I can't see myself drinking more than one in a sitting.

Nice warming beer which isn't something that I would normally say about an IPA. I like it. Thanks again goes to Jesse for including this along with some other cool and interesting extras. Koala bear..how the hell did it know that? Amazing. (985 characters)

a:decent off-white head with pretty good retention. reddish amber body. some lacing

s: this is why i put it in the tulip. when i was at the brewery, they opened up and threw down 4 of these bottles on the crate. little did i know of the surprise that was in store: i took a sniff and i was blown away! it was only then did i notice that it was the white oak aged jai alai. so glad that i was exposed to it cause i didn't even notice it was on sale either and probably would've bypassed it completely. i really could smell this all day. if it was a shampoo, i would make sure my gf used this constantly. the white oak completely takes the nose to the next level, it starts with the hop cirtus sweetness and notches it all the way up to pineapple as well as giving it a bit of a coconut-y and vanilla vibe. as SpeedwayJim mentioned, it's like a pina coloda... with a few trees around. not the most complex but just very pleasant.

t:sugary sweet with sweet fruits and citrus. a bit of piney hop bitterness lingering on the back. doesn't quite live up to the nose but still very nice. The White Oak certainly kicks the hops down a notch, which could be bad as it is an IPA and that's what most are looking for.

m: moderate carbonation, medium body. as expected for an ipa aged on oak.

d: very tasty but u cant really drink too many of these i think. not really a session as much as a special treat.

the fact that i first had this while in the cigar city brewery and that it was so unexpected may have bumped this a bit higher, but i really enjoyed the few, really fresh bottles i had of this. (1,647 characters)

Just had a bottle of the regular Jai Alai, now on to the White Oak version. Once again thanks to GallowsThief for the brew.

A - Pours a hazy copper color, not to much different the regular version. A good amount of foamy white head caps off the brew. Good lacing the along the class as well

S - The difference between the base brew and this one is definitely noticeable in the nose. Oak aroma is there for sure with a bit of pepper in there. Hop notes are in there for sure, just not as dominate.

T - Hop bitterness is noticeable with the first taste but a smooth wood character presents itself which mellows everything out very nicely. The oak combined with the malt bill balances this out almost perfectly.

M - Medium body with a creamy finish. Carbonation is also right on.

D - I was thoroughly impressed with the regular Jai Alai, this one was a step above due to the oak character. Great brew, one that if I can get my hands on again I would for sure. (965 characters)

This beer has just become my new favorite after a half last night and a full bottle tonight. Paired with a peppery, herby baked tilapia it was fine, fine, fine.

It poured with pale head and an amber body and left a trail of lace. The aroma was a pleasant mix of hops and woody oakiness. This has to be the best balanced IPA I've ever had. A wonderfully drinkable beer. The complex flavours continue to surprise and delight down to the last smooth drop. (453 characters)

T: Glorious taste. The white oak takes the original Jai Alai IPA and injects a burst of tropical paradise and a shot of vanilla. The oak seemingly has brought the fruit flavors to the forefront but in a way that perfectly compliments the other flavors.

M: Once again similar to Jai Alai. Definitely some body to it and not thin.

D: Very drinkable. I wish this were available all year round because this would be my IPA of choice.

Out of all the Jai Alai versions I've had, this is my favorite and is one of the finer IPA's I've had. Goes great with the Florida weather. (750 characters)

In a snifter the beer was a hazy amber color with a small white head. A small amount of lace.Great aroma. Lots of citrus, some pale malt. Definite vanilla/oak aroma.Similarly great taste. Grapefruit, tangerine, tropical fruit. Biscuit. Oak lingering in the background the whole time.The oak really tempered the IPA. Very smooth.Will have to get more of these while in Florida. (380 characters)

A: Hazy amber with 1-finger of malted milk colored head with decent retention and nice trails of lace.

S: The oak notes are readily apparent, lending a pleasant sharp woody note to the aroma. This seems to enhance the tropical fruit hops notes significantly more, as the resinous character is reduced but the mango, pineapple, passionfruit components are bigger.

T: The flavor is less rounded for the oak aging but still very interesting and enjoyable with plenty of floral, citrus fruit hoppiness to go ahead with a thread of pine running through it all. The maltiness is even and not too sweet, less so than the base brew.

M: Slick and coating with medium carbonation and a woody aftertaste.

D: An interesting experiment, but I still like the original better as the flavors work well and the pine aspect has more muscle with more resinous notes than this brew. White Oak Jai Alai is still a really good beer. (1,066 characters)

Taste: Sweet honey and pale malt up front sets the table for the hops. Juicy pineapple, grapefruit, and tangerine flavors burst onto my palate. The white oak really helps to smooth all of the flavors out.

Mouthfeel: White Oak Jai Alai shares the mouthfeel characteristics with its base beer. Smooth and creamy, even buttery, it is very juicy up front and gradually dries out toward the end. A light stickiness is present throughout and lingers after the finish. The hoppy bitterness pulls on the taste buds a little bit.

Drinkability: I absolutely loved the effect the White Oak had on the original beer. It added new depth and a flavor profile I am not really familiar with. Maybe the novelty will wear off after trying it a few more times, but for right now, this is one of my favorite IPA's. (1,214 characters)

Filled Last night; Sampled January 2011A big pour into my CCB snifter produces a two finger thick, light, almost pale, tan colored head that leaves some sticky lacing as it slowly subsides.. The beer is a red-amber-copper color that shows a barely hazed, pale amber / copper hue when held up to the light. For a half second the aroma smells only of herbal hops, but then a buttery oak character kicks in as well as a light woody spiciness and an almost fruity, fresh cut wood character (this last must be influenced by the hop fruitiness). The oak influences the hop character to lean more towards the herbal side than the regular version does, and it also brings out a surprising note of floral pear. It is weird, the huge hop fruit character somehow lurks furtively in the background, but at the same time is on the verge of seeming huge here in the nose; it definitely suggests at tropical fruit and when you really dig the finish is quite dominated by a uniquely singular grapefruit zest aroma (this last is not a suggestion of such an aroma as in every other IPA I have had, but instead smells exactly like grapefruit zest).

A nice biting bitterness closely followed by grapefruit and tangelo citrus notes greets my tongue up front. A bright tropical fruit character is found towards the middle in finish (much more apparent than in the nose) and the oak brings out some pear notes here as well. The finish is quite smooth, with an initial bitterness sort of morphing into a lightly spicy oak character and then just melting into a mix of buttery oak and pear / tropical fruit character with really no lingering bitterness at all; it is as if the oak neutralizes the bitterness in the finish somehow. There is quite a bit of green, sort of fruity (this last is clearly influenced by the hops), fresh woodiness towards the finish of this beer and this also accentuates herbal hop notes that lean towards mint, rosemary and perhaps a hint of sage. This has a fullness to it that is not heavy, and it suggests at the caramel malt character that is here; this last really melds into the buttery oak character such that it isn't as noticeable as it was in the regular Jai Alai.

This beer is quite interesting, the oak definitely adds complexity and the notes it brings to the game are nice, but actually negatively impacts the overall balance and composition of the beer (especially since the straight Jai Alai is so fresh in my mind). Still, this is quite enjoyable, I would almost always choose the regular version over this, or even the Cedar version is better, but I truly am quite happy to be drinking this right now (I am perhaps a bit overly disappointed only because I am making a mental comparison to the regular version I had last night). (2,751 characters)

Jai Alai: No date info on the bottle. Hazy dark copper body capped with a creamy finger's worth of foam. Retention's pretty good. Patchy lacing.White Oak: Much improved. Massive frothy head that reduces at a slow rate, leaving a mountain of foam in the middle with a huge bumpy skip all around. Impressive sticky clumps of lacing are scattered all over the place. Gorgeous. Bump 3.0 to 5.0.

Jai Alai: Very east coastish nose, with a hefty dose of caramel and light citrus zest notes underneath. White Oak: Add a bunch of oak, which is pleasant in and of itself, but further blunts the hops. No change from 3.0.

Jai Alai: A touch boozy. A thickish brew, with moderate carbonation doing little to lighten up the sweetness. A decent level of bitterness briefly cuts through midswallow. Juicy citrus turns into a mildy pungent leafy hop flavor toward the finish. Malt dialed up to about 8.5.White Oak: The plentiful oak seems to amplify the malts at the expense of the hops. No change from 3.0 for taste or feel, although a potential downgrade to 2.5 was considered.

Jai Alai overall impression: Not particularly memorable, although I have no idea how old the bottle is. Given this mystery, I'm inclined to give it another shot (will update my review with any new developments).White Oak: Again, not really memorable. I remain unconvinced that 'oaking' is a good idea for IPAs. It's a helluva great looking brew, though, which is inflating my rating a notch or 2 above what it probably deserves. (1,608 characters)